There's Something About The Rain
by StartingToFade
Summary: Set within the events and timeline of the game... with a few twists. Follows all characters and an OC who has links to a suspect and wants to know more. Rated T for obvious reasons. *May update summary later*


_A/N: Hello there :)  
_

_This is my first Heavy Rain fic, it follows the timeline of the game and most of the events with some changes and twists etc. Anyway I hope you like it and R&R would be really appreciated._

_Big thanks to Madame Apathy who is beta-ing this fic and also thanks to Adam who told me to write it after I went on and on that I had ideas. :)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Heavy Rain, I think that goes without saying._

* * *

The sound of the rain tapped on the windowpane, an all too familiar sound. When fall began, the rain was an annoyance, something else to adapt to. However, by the time it was halfway through the season, the rain was a mere background noise and resolutions to always carry an umbrella had been long forgotten, switched in favour of just letting it drench you. Rain, for all its downfalls, had its positives. The sun after the rain was always like a refreshing new start (rainbows, of course, require rain). Rain can wash away mud, dirt and decay, leaving things gleaming and new looking. But not everything can be washed away so easily...

Tuesday. Another day just like Monday, except that it included picking Shaun up from school, making sure he was fed, did his homework was put to bed at a reasonable hour. Since the day he lost Jason, life had been a case of going through the motions, not feeling the emotions that usually go with it. Ethan couldn't help but wonder if he ever be able to reach out to his son again. Concentration etched on his forehead, the man watched Shaun at the table, engrossed deeply in his Math work. He'd ask Shaun about school or his friends or his teacher, everyday things only to be given a two word 'Everything's fine' summary. Resting against kitchen work surface, Ethan felt his mind drift off briefly to much missed memories; when Jason was still alive, when Grace was still his wife, before it all went wrong. Compared to the present, it was like looking at another person's life or watching a television show. The memory wasn't of a birthday or Christmas- it was of the summer before the accident. The thoughts wrapped around him; the new camera, Jason and Shaun in the garden as they bounced in front of the camera, Grace laughing that she didn't want to be filmed.

"Dad?" A small voice broke through into his thoughts. "Dad, I'm finished. Can I go watch TV?" Shaun asked, looking up expectantly. Yanked cruelly from his memories, Ethan paused for a second.  
Looking back to the past was painful, but the worst pain at all, the aching feeling that someone was tugging his chest inside out, was when he was dragged back into reality. Shoving his grief back, Ethen attempted to proceed onwards.  
"Let me have a look," he said, moving to scan Shaun's homework in one of the rare moments he interacted with his son. Once the work was judged to be acceptable, Shaun moved back to his abode on the couch, and Ethan was left with his thoughts once more.

When bedtime ticked around, Ethan went through the motions of taking Shaun up to bed and getting his teddy bear. Clutching the stuffed toy for a moment, he remembered the day Grace's sister brought it around for Jason. Shaun had really taken to it, as if it was some sort of connection to his deceased brother. Not wanting to keep Shaun waiting, Ethan headed back upstairs and presented it to his son, smiling. As he went to kiss him goodnight, the grin didn't fool his son anymore than it fooled Ethan.  
"Why do you look so sad?" the little boy whispered. At this, Ethan's attempt at a happy face fell to the floor, shattering. Children could be remarkably observant... or was it that adults could be remarkably obvious? He stared at the floor momentarily.  
"I... think I just need time to get back to the way things were," The father and son stayed perfectly still for a moment, lost and quiet as two figures in a snowglobe.  
"You know, Dad," the child ventured, his eyes wide awake for a moment. "What happened to Jason wasn't your fault." This quiet shred of comfort made Ethan falter a second- he knew it wasn't Shaun who blamed him for what happened to Jason. Why had he turned his head? A second's mistake, and it cost his child. Trying to blot away the thought, he gazed at his remaining son silently.  
"Goodnight, Shaun," Without another word, he swiftly left the room, not bothering to close the door.

Without warning, a surge crashed into him, rendering it hard to stay upright. Trying to regain control, he blinked, hoping the scene in front of him would vanish. However, when he opened his eyes, it was not the hallway in front of him. Instead, he saw an unfamiliar street, any sound blasted out by a train spluttering past. As Ethan tried to fathom where he was and why he was here, he felt something was pressing into his hand. Opening his palm, he glanced down- a small, origami dog.  
What the hell was happening?


End file.
